Longest rang cf card? Senao vs. Ambicom

[pdwifi]

Hey all,

I've searched long and far, and haven't found a definitive answer: What is the longest range cf wifi card?  The likely 2 cards include the Senao NL-2511CF and the Ambicom WL1100C-CF.

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Senao
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The 200mW Senao pc card is generally considered the longest range for notebooks, and their 2511 cf card appears to have 50mW.  However, I have seen varying receive sensitivities and power specs for their cf.

Senao's own site specs it at 14dBm, -90dBm for 1Mbps:

http://tinyurl.com/2ldro
[ pdf doc ]

However, Keenan's site specs it at 14dBm, -92dBm for 1Mbps:

http://tinyurl.com/29tvg

Here the range is spec'd at 400m, 13+/-1dBm , -91dBm for 1Mbps:

http://tinyurl.com/2s4ot

The longest spec'd range for the Senao I've been able to find is 400m.  

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Ambicom
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The Ambicom site specs their cf card at 11dBm/max. 13dBm, -91dbm at 1Mbps, with a max range of **500m**.  These specs are also what I've been able to find elsewhere.  So, while I'd assume Senao would be the longest range card based on its pc version hardware, it looks like the Ambicom cf is beating Senao's cf by 100 meters.

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I went ahead and bought the Ambicom card a couple months ago, and it works great with my Zaurus c750 running Qtopia and Debian from pocketworkstation.org (on Sharp rom).

I'm about to buy the Senao 2511 pc card, and thought I'd ask again if anyone had tested or otherwise determined accurate ranges for the Ambicom vs. Senao cf cards.  Not that I'm looking for an excuse to purchase the Senao cf as well...


Thanks!

[zxerx]

I use a Senao SL-2511CF card in my SL-C760 and a "Long Range" Senao SL-2511CD Plus PC Card in my desktop PC (I notice that the current range of products are NL-*).

I wish I could say that I've done all sorts of testing and analysis, but I havn't. I just use the wireless network around the house and it works great. However, as soon as I step out the front door and put six inches of bricks and concrete between the Z and the PC, I lose connectivity instantly - and the front door is only about 15m from the PC. (I've also got an Orinoco Gold PC card, and around the house, performance is the same).

I suspect that in a large open environment, things would be a bit different. It's a pity the SL-2511CD doesn't have an external antenna connection, as it would probably make a very good card for long range point to point networks.

The best thing I can say about the SL-2511CF card is that it's protrusion from the zaurus is very small.

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